FSA offers disaster assistance and low-interest loan programs to assist agricultural producers statewide in their recovery efforts following wildfires or similar qualifying natural disasters.
FSA’s disaster programs and loans may alleviate some of the financial strain producers have suffered from the devastating impact of the recent natural disasters.
Legislative authority for some programs ends on September 30, 2011.

Cassie Bable, USDA-FSA | Sep 12, 2011

The USDA Texas Farm Service Agency offers several disaster assistance programs that can help producers recover from devastating natural disasters such as wildfires.

“Mother Nature has not been kind to Texas farmers and ranchers in 2011,” said James Douglass, Acting State Executive Director for Texas FSA. “Although not a remedy to the extensive hardships and heartbreak experienced by many producers this year, it’s my hope that FSA’s disaster programs and loans can alleviate some of the financial strain producers have suffered from the devastating impact of the recent natural disasters.”

FSA offers disaster assistance and low-interest loan programs to assist agricultural producers statewide in their recovery efforts following wildfires or similar qualifying natural disasters. Visit http://www.fsa.usda.gov/ for more details. The assistance programs available include:

Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) offers payments to eligible producers for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather. Eligible losses may include those determined by FSA to have been caused by hurricanes, floods, blizzards, wildfires, tropical storms, tornados, lightening, extreme heat, and extreme cold. Producers will be required to provide verifiable documentation of death losses resulting from an eligible adverse weather event.

Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) includes payments to eligible producers who suffered grazing losses for eligible livestock because of drought or fire.

Tree Assistance Program (TAP) for eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers for qualifying tree losses due to natural disaster.

Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) Under the ELAP, FSA may spend up to $50 million per year to provide emergency relief for losses due to feed or water shortages, disease, adverse weather, or other conditions, such as blizzards and wildfires, which are not adequately addressed by other disaster programs.

Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payment Program (SURE) offers payments to eligible producers who have incurred crop production losses or crop quality losses, or both.

Emergency Loan Program – The recent primary or contiguous Secretarial Disaster designation for all counties in Texas, which triggered the availability of FSA’s low interest (3.75 percent) Emergency Loans. These loans help producers recover from production and physical losses due to drought, flooding, wildfire and other natural disasters or quarantine.

Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) provides payments to eligible owners of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) land in order to carry out emergency measures to restore land damaged by a natural disaster.